The UN Convention provides a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas in international waters to protect them against the loss of wildlife.

Lewis became the first person to swim across the Red Sea. After the 16-day swim, the Egyptian government committed to creating a 2,000km long Marine Protected Area along its precious coral reefs, known as the Great Fringing Reef.

Lewis swam down a sub-glacial tunnel under the East Antarctica ice sheet to highlight the rapid melting taking place in this region.

Awarded for “an outstanding contribution to geographical knowledge in a potentially hazardous environment” by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Lewis became the first person to swim the length of the English Channel. The 528km swim took 49 days to complete. Afterwards, Lewis successfully urged the UK to agree to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

After this swim, Lewis worked with Great British Oceans (a coalition of environmental NGOs), and persuaded the UK to increase the protection of this archipelago from just 2% to 23% – an increase of 264,000km2.

Lewis is honoured to serve the University of Cape Town, where he first studied law in the early 1990s.

Lewis visited the South Jersey Shark Tournament and was horrified to find that a number of major corporations are sponsoring the slaughter of endangered shark species. Since then, he’s persuaded many to stop.

Awarded by the University of Plymouth, which is renowned for all things maritime.

The water was minus 1.7°C and the air temperature was minus 37°C. Afterwards, Lewis Pugh and Slava Fetisov helped persuade Russia to sign the deal that created the largest protected area in the world.

Tragically, Lewis’s fellow awardee Ueli Steck was killed on Mt Everest shortly afterwards.

The highest honour in the sport of endurance swimming.

Lewis’s brief was simple: be a voice for the world’s oceans, for the penguins, whales, sharks, seals and all its magnificent creatures.

The forum is a gathering for business and political leaders, and civil society, to drive positive change in the world.

The highest swim in the world.

This is South Africa’s highest honour. The Gold Class has only been awarded to a sportsperson four times, in a country with a history of sporting excellence.

The first swim across the North Pole, to highlight the rapid melting of the Arctic Sea ice. Since then, it has continued to melt.

Lewis was the first person to swim the length of the River Thames to highlight the impact of climate change on the United Kingdom.

Lewis was the first person to undertake a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world. It was a journey, which had begun 14 years earlier.

After seeing the sea floor was white with whalebones, Lewis knew he would longer swim just to break records; every swim had to have a purpose.

17-year-old Lewis’s first long-distance swim – from Robben Island to Cape Town – means the most to him. He found his calling.